The Walking Dead: Journey of Micah
by someone45
Summary: This is my first It's about a 16 year old named Micah, who lives on chesapeake, This story may contain characters from the show or game more towards the end, but for now, it will be all. Feel free to comment and review. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Micah`s story  
Prologue: Day 1, 7:53 AM  
*yawn* As I slowly awoke from my sleep, I checked my Iphone to see that it was 7:53. I knew it was a school day so I did my best to get out of the bed, which was more comfortable now than it was when I first got on it. It took a while but I managed to get up and get into the shower. I thought that the hot water would help me get out of my grogginess, but all it did was make me more tired. I turned off the water and got out of the shower and dried off. I went back to my room and got into my pre-set outfit for the day, which included a dark green shirt with a big sun and the word "sublime" under it, dark blue jeans, a simple black hoodie, black DC`s, and a wallet chain with black skulls with red eyes on it. I grabbed my book bag, which was under my bed for some reason, and went to the kitchen. I opened the cabinet and got the box of cookies and cream cereal and made a bowl. Due to my ever persistent grogginess, when I walked to the dinner table I put the bowl down so hard that some milk rushed to one side of the bowl and spilled on the table. "You better clean that up before you leave!" said my Mom who was entering the kitchen. She had on a pink shirt, light blue pants, and a plain white apron. She got a paper towel from the rack next to the sink and handed it to me. "Thanks Mom, and good morning." She looked at me with a kind smile and replied, "Good morning to you too, sweetie." As I turned to clean up the milk a muscular arm wrapped itself around my neck and began to tighten. "C'mon Micah! I've showed you how to get out of a sleeper hold 100 times!" As the world got hazy, I heard a voice yell, "ALEX! Stop playing around and let him eat!" Once my Mom said her words the arm let me go and I could breathe again. "Oh Mary, I was just having a little fun! Plus, learning how to get out of a sleeper hold is one of life's mandatory skills!" I looked at my Dad, who was beginning to talk about how important it is to get out of a sleeper hold. He was a tall, muscular guy who was wearing a white tee-shirt and grey sweat pants. I refocused my thoughts on the bowl before me, which was once full of cereal, but was now on its side with the contents splattered on the table and dripping on the floor. My Mom stood there wide eyed at the sight and her face began to show obvious signs of being highly annoyed. Once my Dad saw this, he immediately went and grabbed a towel from the bathroom and came back to clean up his mess. He looked up at me and whispered, "The only thing worse than being in the military is being with an angry house wife!" To which I let out a small chuckle and checked the time. It was 8:12 and I knew I wouldn't have enough time to make another bowl and still be able to walk to school. As I thought of walking to school, I remembered that I hadn't yet seen my sisters up and about. "Hey Mom, where is Eliza and Jessica?" She turned around from washing dishes and replied," Oh, your sisters arent going to school today." I was surprised and envious of my sisters who were able to sleep soundly while I had to battle the urge to just crawl back into bed and sleep. "Why? Are they sick or something," I inquired. "Eliza said that she was losing her spiritual balance and needed to meditate or evil spirits could cause her bad karma. You know how she is." I became angry at the blatant lie to avoid the early morning call to school. "And Jessica said that she had to test out some new cheat codes on that game she bought a few days ago." I couldn't hold in my thoughts any longer," OH COME ON! She wasn't even trying to lie! How come Eliza and Jessica get to stay home for the most stupid reasons and I have to go to school even if I'm dying of grogginess?!" My Dad swiftly replied," Because they havent already missed 9 days." I realized that this was an argument that I couldn't win and reluctantly got ready to walk to school. "Well I'm going to head to school. See you guys later." My Mom and Dad replied in unison," Bye, and have a good day!" As I walked to the door I ran into my two siblings who had fresh and healthy looking expressions on their faces. "I hate you guys so much right now." They simply looked at me with confused expressions. Eliza, who was wearing gold hoop earrings that complimented her bright blonde hair, a pink shirt that had been modified to expose her stomach and allow holes in her sleeves for thumbs, and bright green exercise pants, stated," What in the name of Gaia are you talking about?" Then Jessica, who was wearing a simple black tee-shirt that looked to big on her and black sweat pants that resembled Dads, said," Chill, dude, we just woke up." I wasn't in the mood to argue. I knew that I was most definitely going to be late so I had to leave. "Well, I hope you two enjoy making me be late to school all by my lonesome." Jessica said," Don't be such a baby about it. If you want, we can play Skyrim when you get back." Then Eliza said," Or, instead of playing that violent game, you could meditate with me and help maintain your spiritual energy." Jessica and I rolled our eyes at the statement. "Sure, ok. See you guys later." Jessica replied," See ya," and Eliza added," May Gaia bless you!" With that I began my trek to the school, which was pretty close by. I got to Western Branch High School within 10 minutes and checked my watch to see that it was 8:56 and I was definitely late. I walked to the front entrance and prepared for the look of disappointment from my 1st bell teacher. As I opened the door I looked behind me to look at how blue the sky was. I also saw a guy who was stumbling around and looked pretty bad. I thought," Jeez. That guy probably had one to many." With that, I went into school and prepared for 1st bell.  
End of prologue


	2. Chapter 2

Day 1, 1:31 PM

"Did you guys hear about Mrs. Bakers' class having a end of semester party," said my friend Alicia. She was a spunky black girl who had known me since my freshman year. "Micah, isn't she your first bell teacher," inquired the boy in the seat to the right of Alicia, Jake. He was a football player who was bitten by the acting bug and signed up for drama class. I don't normally get along with sporty people, but he was different from the normal meat heads at my school. I answered," Sure am! I don't know why people say the don't like her class. Its very fun and I was able to get an A this marking period." "Well, not everyone is a budding math matician like you, Micah," said the girl who was sitting in front of me, Lindsey. She was a senior who had a remarkable talent for acting. She was even in an independent movie, whose title is forgotten very easily. "C'mon. I'm not THAT great at math. I just…ace every test." "SEE," she yelled. "If you four are finished talking, then I have a lesson to go over," said our drama teacher Mrs. Wills. "Yes ma'am," we all replied in unison. "Thank you. Now, can anyone tell me what the central idea of "Trojan Women" was?" Just before anyone could answer, an announcement came on. ***Teachers please lock your doors, cover your windows, and turn off your classroom lights. The school is now on lock-down and will remain so until further notice.** * A great uproar started in the class. This was the first time in 7 years that our school had gone under an actual lock-down. Mrs. Wills began to do as the announcement had instructed her. The class got very quiet once she turned the lights off. I could tell that the class was nervous. The only sounds that were audible were heavy breathing and someone taking a puff of their inhaler. It remained like this for quite some time and I decided to check my watch. It was2:59. I knew that something was very wrong, but that's not saying much considering how paranoid I usually am under these kinds of conditions. I thought to myself," What the hell is going on out there?"

Meanwhile, the principal, two ladies from the announcement office, including the lady who gave the lock-down announcement, and two security guards were gathered at the front entrance to discuss what to do with the man who was banging on the entrance doors. The security guards had already called the police, who said that they were overflowing with calls from all around town and that all the officers had been dispatched. " So, what are we gonna do," inquired the principal. " We should try to restrain him," said one of the security guards. " But what are we gonna-" the other woman from the office was cut off when the sound of one man banging became the sound of two more pairs of hands doing the same. The small group looked out the office windows to see that two more men were banging on the door, but that wasn't all. About 20 more people were in front of the school walking toward the entrance door. "What the hell," said the lock-down announcement woman. The security guards were holding the doors closed from the increasing number of hands banging on them. " Find something to prop the doors closed," yelled one security guard, but it was too late. The door the other security guard had kept closed had flung open, letting a swarm of people in. They began to rip apart the guard who was keeping the door closed. " Those things aren't human," uttered the principal. It was true. These things that were once people were now rotting masses of flesh, Zombies, and they were coming in fast. The women from the office closed and locked the office door to prevent the zombies from entering while the other guard and the principal tried to flee the zombies by running into the hallway. The zombies caught up to them and devoured the security guard while the principal got away with a bite on the leg that hindered him. The zombies took advantage of this and caught up to him. While the principal tried to flail his way out of the grip of the zombies, he tripped the fire alarm set in the hallway. The alarm sounded and the principal was devoured in the hall.

"I guess this means we exit the school," said Mrs. Wills. The class began to exit the room but stopped abruptly when a zombie forced its way through the class and began devouring Mrs. Wills. The classroom was filled with shrieks of terror. Some students fled through the door and into the hall while other students, including me, Alicia, Jake, and Lindsay, fled to one side of the room trying to avoid the zombies in the hall that had become aware of our presence. They began coming into the class by the dozens. Students who were caught by them were instantly devoured. I was trying my best not to show that I was scared while I tried to help my friends out of the class, hearing the pain filled cries of our fellow classmates the whole time. I was able to find an opening to leave the class and I escaped into the hall. I looked behind me to see my friends who weren't there. I looked back into the class to see them boxed into a corner. Alicia noticed me and called out to me, causing Jake and Lindsay to do the same. I was in shock, believe it or not. I had been shocked since the first zombie devoured Mrs. Wills. I had always thought in the back of my mind that something like this would happen one day, but my common sense always kicked in to remind me that this would never happen. I was also scared. Scared of feeling the pain of hands digging into me and eating my insides. As the zombies were closing in on them I was presented with two options; try to save my friends, or run for my life. I knew that there was no way I could save them, even if I wasn't almost frozen with fear. With tear filled eyes and my heavy heart weighing me down, I ran from the class, hearing my name being called from within. As I ran through the zombie infested hallways I began thinking about my decision to leave my friends behind. Their voices calling for me as I ran rang through my head and wouldn't stop. It wasn't long before I realized that I hadnt seen other students running with me. The only students I saw were the ones being eaten. I ran into the main hall and saw the exit door down it. I ran down the hall and passed small groups of zombies eating people they caught. One tried to grab my leg but it missed barely. It wasn't long before I got to the door. It was hard to open at first, but I managed to do it. I suddenly stopped and looked behind me to see if anyone was there. To my surprise, three teachers were leading a small group of students to the exit that I had opened. I waited for them to get to the door but they were attacked by zombies coming from the hall to the left of them. The screams of the teachers who were caught alerted the other zombies in the hall, which caused the students to be trapped. Before I could see what had happened to them, I ran outsie into the school parking lot and didn't stop. I ran the same way I used to get to school to go back home. I remembered how Jessica and Eliza had skipped school and, for once, I was glad. As I ran home, I saw people on the street that met the same fate as the students at my school. I also saw people driving away and running in to zombies. One family, including a mom, dad, and two daughters, were pilling supplies into their car when a zombie attacked the dad. The mom and daughters quickly got into the car and drove away, leaving the dad to be painfully eaten. The world was getting hazy and I knew my body was almost out of energy. I was afraid I would pass out and not make it home, but I think that fear was what kept me going. I was came up to my house and ran up the porch. I didn't notice it then but the door to my house, which is usually locked, was already partially opened. I pushed it open the rest of the way and yelled," MOM! DAD! PLEASE HELP!" I was soon hit with a wave of exhaustion and I fell to the floor. I knew that my body was exhausted and needed to rest. My eyes began to close and the world dissolved into blackness around me. Before I knew it, I had passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Day 1, 5:43 PM

It was a long time before I opened my eyes again. When I finally came to, I was still on the floor where I had passed out and the door was wide open from when I had entered. I was in a daze and I had a horrible headache. I tried to get up but I felt so tired and achy that I fell down again. After a while my mind was becoming clearer and I resumed my task to find my family. I went to my parents room to see that their room had been ransacked. The same went for my sisters rooms. Strangely though, my room, which doubled as the garage, was left untouched. After searching the house, I had found that my family wasn't here, the food, most of their clothes were gone, and the handgun and shotgun had been taken as well. I had also realized that my dad's car had been taken but my mom's mini van had been left behind. I tried my hardest to ignore the fact that my family wasn't there. My panic level was rapidly increasing. Thoughts were racing through my head. _Why weren't they here? Did they see the zombies and decide to leave? If that's true, why did they leave me? Did they not want me to go with them? Why would they leave me alone? _Right when I thought that, I had a flashback to the school. I had escaped the school and survived, but I chose to leave my friends behind to save my own skin, literally. A wave of guilt washed over me. Even more thoughts began to go though my head. _How could I have just left them behind? They were my friends, right? They would have helped me if I were in that situation, right? Instead, I acted like a coward and ran for my own sake. I'm a horrible person. I should have been the one to die and they should have escaped… I… I… I should kill myself to make it up to them. Someone like me wouldn't survive long in a world like this anyway. _I went to the kitchen and grabbed a cutting knife. "A few cuts to my wrist and I should bleed out before night comes," I said to myself. As I sat in a corner, I braced myself for the pain and I readied the knife. I drew the knife ever so closer to my wrist and the blade touched my skin. "Now I just have to cut…" I froze. My life began flashing before my eyes. All the times I had hurt myself and my Mom would patch me up, when my older sister would teach me all about how to treat the earth kindly and think of others with respect and sincerity, how my younger sister would let me watch her play all the games and anime series' she got and would even let me, and on rare occasions Eliza, play with her, how my dad would teach my siblings and I how to fend off attackers and talk about how useful this stuff would be when we go of to the military, an idea that he tried to enforce mostly on me, and how all my friends have stuck with me through thick and thin. I began to violently sob. Even more memories were being brought into light including all the talks about suicide and religion and god, how suicide buys you a won way ticket to hell, and all the people who told me to never give up. I was the kind of person who was quick to give up. I wouldn't give up on every little thing that crossed my path but some things I wouldn't even try to work toward. I also wasn't a very political person. I always tried to remain neutral on everything that didn't matter to me. I began to wonder if I had a "voice" a lot when I was younger, but as I grew up, I began to accept that not having a "voice" wasn't such a big deal. _It wouldn't matter if I died. Even if the world rose from this, I wouldn't be an important person to the new world. _Suddenly I remembered how many times my family told me how important I was to them. I always figured that's something they were obligated to say. _Maybe… they were telling the truth. If that were true, then why would they leave me? Maybe they didn't leave of their own volition. You should just die already. Maybe… just maybe…I could survive. You left your friends behind. You don't deserve to live._Then it hit me. Maybe I didn't deserve to live, but I could make up for leaving them. I never saw them die, so maybe they got out. Maybe they are somewhere out of the school! I stood up and dropped the knife. I had given myself a reason to live through this world. There was no reason for me to kill myself anymore._Wait. How am I going to fight off zombies bare handed?_ I remembered the house had been picked clean of any useful weapons. The only room that wasn't picked through was my room. Then I remembered. Last year at an anime convention, I bought a replica sword. The sword was fairly small and the blade wasn't sharp but it was better than no weapon at all. I went to my room, which was filled with anime memorabilia, and grabbed the sword. It was light and easy to swing around without using too much energy. I felt a surge of hope and with it some more ideas._Maybe some of my other friends survived as well. My family is out there somewhere too, so I should try to find them as well. I should try to save as many people I know as possible. _With my new resolve I grabbed the keys to my Mom's mini van and stepped outside. "From what I could gather from what happened at the school, the zombies are attracted to sound. Maybe I should try to drive quietly. With that, I slowly drove in the direction of the school with my heart filled with the hope of reuniting with my loved ones.


	4. Chapter 4

Day 73, 9:20 AM

The sun shined through the curtains and right into my still sleepy eyes. I rubbed my eyes and began to get up off the reclining chair in my living room. I checked my watch to see that it was 9:20. _I'd better start searching. _I grabbed my outfit that had been covered with duct tape on the inside, my backpack, and my trusty sword and headed out the door. _I need to get food._ I grabbed my map of the town, which had been divided into sections, and looked for places I hadn't already scavenged. The wind blew my hair into my eyes and I used my hand that wasn't holding the sword to move my bangs into a better position. _I need a haircut. I'd better add finding a pair of scissors to the list. _I decided to travel to the mall area and search for the supplies I needed. On the way, I saw bodies of the victims that were to slow. Some I had seen already and became accustomed to seeing, but others were fresh. I knew that some zombies must still be around. I made sure to stay quiet and continued on the route to the mall area. After 5 minutes of careful trekking and zombie killing, I had arrived at my destination, Chesapeake Square, or the mall area as I call it. It had stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, and many other places, which held precious supplies, needed for survival. Sadly, this treasure-trove of supplies isn't just mine for the picking. There are other survivors in the area who also like to get supplies from here as well. These survivors, however, aren't the most friendly people you could meet. The groups aren't afraid to use force to get what they want, except for the church group, which tries to use religion to appeal to others. There have been occasions when I have had "arrangements" with these groups, and by "arrangements", I mean I give them all the supplies I found beforehand and they let me live. That's why I try my best to avoid these groups. One group, however, is set up in the Chesapeake Square mall, so I either see them, or hear them. This group is more reasonable than the others are. I haven't seen any, but I've heard children playing in the area near the mall, so I believe they are so benevolent for the sake of the children, which is odd since they treat me like an intruder and I'm only 16. If I was lucky, I could maneuver around their patrolling survivors and take some supplies from the pharmacy, which was located in the mall, along with other stores, which would make my life easier. I've tried to negotiate with them, but most of the time they value their groups survival chances over some kid they barely know. The other two groups that are in this area are located in the church and in the movie theater that is connected to the mall. The group in the church has tried many times to get the other groups and myself to join them, but we all want to operate in different ways and have different views. The group in the movie theater and the mall often argue about supplies and territory, but somehow they both manage to not start a war. I don't know exactly when the group in the mall settled there, but the church group was all the people in town who had a religious outlook on the epidemic and the movie theater group were travelling survivors who thought it would be a good idea to settle there. The mall area has been pretty clear of zombies since the 3 groups take part in keeping this supply haven safe. Other than the occasional run-in with members of these groups, I practically never interact with anything that isn't dead. I readied myself and quietly began my course for Wal-Mart. _Just so I'm sure, I need food, scissors, and more duct tape. _I went to the entrance of Wal-Mart and listened carefully. The only noises I heard were the groans of the undead. I readied my sword and quietly entered. The lights were out so I used the flashlight from my backpack to improve my vision. I knew that I could find what I needed in Wal-Mart, not because it has EVERYTHING, but it's the only place the other groups are scared to scavenge. Mainly because nobody knows exactly how many zombies are in here, it has no lights, and sound travels in there. I, however, wasn't afraid to take a risk to score big on supplies. I carefully entered and began looking for supplies. I found some bags of chips, water bottles, two rolls of duct tape, and…_That's…Mrs. Bakers…_ I saw a zombie who used to be my teacher from school, one of the ones I didn't see after I escaped. The zombie looked at me and began to walk in my direction. One of its arms had multiple bite marks and its legs also had a few bites. It groaned as it stumbled closer and closer to me. I readied my sword and waited for it to be within range. Once it got close enough, I swung my sword and cut its head right in half. The zombie collapsed on the spot. _I'm sorry… You didn't deserve to end up like this. _I teared up a little but continued to search. I found some canned foods and some antibiotics from the mini pharmacy in Wal-Mart. Shortly after, I heard someone else enter. I quickly hid behind the pharmacy counter, turned off my flashlight, and listened. "Hey Mike, you sure that nobody ever comes in here?" "I know that nobody SANE comes in here." "Then why are we in here?" "Tobias told us we had to look in here. We are just following orders." I heard the two men start to forage around the store very loudly. I made sure not to try to talk to them and waited for them to leave. The noise was beginning to attract the zombies and I heard them ready their guns. They began shooting at the zombies while I tried to feel around and quietly stuff my bag with more medicine. _It doesn't hurt to be a little greedy sometimes. _The guns stopped firing and it got quiet. The men began talking again. "I think that's the last of 'em." "But we practically used all of our ammo. Tobias is gonna be pissed." "I don't give a fuck what Tobias thinks. I'm getting tired of being on his tight leash all the damn time." "Charlie, c'mon man. Tobias is the whole reason we're still alive." "I hate how you keep rubbing that fact in my face. Just shut your damn mouth!" "Fine, Jesus, but lets get going. I think we've filled our bags enough" "Yeah. Lets go." I prepared myself to leave once they had left the store, but my foot hit a shelf by accident and caused bottles to fall off. _Shit! _The men started talking again. "Did you hear that?" "I did. I think someone else's in here." "But I thought you said nobody who was sane comes in here." "Maybe it was a member of another group, or that damn kid whose always sneaking around. I'm gonna check it out." "Be careful" _Shit! Fuck! _The footsteps got closer and closer. Even if I get caught, I could just give them all my supplies, but I need these! If I don't eat, then I WILL die. I tried to hatch a plan of escape as the beam from his flashlight was now starting to light up the area near the counter. I looked around to find a spot I could hide in and I saw a door in the back that was just barely visible. It had the words "Emergency Exit" written on it. _My only option is to make a run for it and hope I don't get shot. _I shot up and ran to the door. "HEY! STOP!" I heard the man cock his gun just as I pushed the door open. As ran out and heard two shots fired behind me, then a string of curse words. I didn't waste time to recover and quickly made my way back to my house, being careful to avoid members of the groups. When I got back home, it was 5:23. I went to the collage of pictures I had on a wall and found the picture of Mrs. Bakers from the picture taken after the class party. I first got the gray marker from the table next to the collage and made an X across her face, then I took the red marker and made a box around her face. I put the marker down and looked at the collage. It had various pictures of family, friends, and teachers I cared about. Many had red X's or gray X's with red boxes around them. It was my code. If a picture had a gray X then that meant the person was a zombie. If it had a red box around the X then I killed them as a zombie. If it had a red X then they were either eaten or killed as a zombie when I found them. Among other pictures, there were pictures of Alicia, Jake, and Lindsay, all of whom had red X's over their faces. Every time I looked at them, I thought of that first day when I went back to the school. The school wasn't as over run as it was now, so I was able to go back to my classroom without to much trouble. I wish I hadn't though. When I looked inside, all I saw was the eaten corpses of my friends and teacher, including the three friends I had left behind. Their intestines and other organs were sprawled on the floor near them and the whole room was covered with the blood of many. Some bodies were moving even though they weren't zombies beforehand. That's when I learned that you come back as a zombie even if you die. My hope for the future was destroyed. After that day, I became a scavenger. I chose to stay alone and never join groups, or talk to people when I didn't need to. My urge to find my loved ones increased and I made the system I have now. Most pictures had X's and there were only seven people who I hadn't found yet. That included my Mom, my Dad, my older sister Eliza, my younger sister Jessica, and my friends Maggie, Tammy, and Hazel. Finding them was the only thing keeping me going these days. My worst fear was finding everyone else that was left dead, then I truly wouldn't have anything to live for. Somewhere in my head, I knew they were dead, but my heart just wouldn't accept that. The only way I would give up was if I saw them with my own eyes. I told myself that every day since day 1. I opened a bag of Lay's chips and began eating it. The salty goodness was heavenly. I hadn't eaten anything in two days so this was a much welcomed change. It wasn't long before I finished the bag. I was still hungry, but I knew my food supply would last longer if I rationed it. I went to the kitchen, grabbed a wet rag, and scrubbed of the gunk on my sword. It took about three minutes, but afterwards it was clean as a whistle. I grabbed the sharpener and drew the blade across it a few times to help keep my sword in shape. I felt myself getting tired and I put the sword down. I opened the partially broken door to my wrecked room and went to the dresser. I pulled out my plaid pajama bottoms and white tee shirt and changed. I checked the boarded up spot on the wall in my room that was once where the side door was. The boards were still in place and it didn't look like anyone had tampered with them. I grabbed my pillow and blanket and went to the living room. I made myself a spot on the reclining chair and laid down. _Is this how every day is going to be? Me trying to survive and never finding my loved ones alive? _These thoughts came to mind and I tried my hardest to discard them. I knew if I let them bug me too much, then I would lose my mind. I tried to think on the positive as I drifted off to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Day 74, 8:43 AM

I woke up suprisingly early compared to the time I usually wake up. The sun wasn't so high up that it caused light to shine in my eyes, so I woke up pretty well. I did the usual morning rituals, which included checking for what supplies I needed, equipping my special outfit, and getting my sword and backpack. The trip to Wal-Mart pretty much saved me for the next few days, but it never hurts to have excess supplies in times like this. Once I was set, I decided to head on out. I looked at my Mom's van and sighed in disappointment. _I wish it wasn't so noisy. _I decided to go pick through houses close to mine instead of going to the mall area. I had almost cleaned out my neighborhood so I thought this would be a good time to finish searching it. I began to go to the west part of Raleigh Place and look through houses. I ran into a few zombies, but they weren't to big of a problem. I picked through the houses and expected to find lost of various things, but so far, I wasn't finding anything useful. I found an occasional can of spaghetti O's and a water bottle or two, but nothing more than that. I wasn't even finding any guns, not that I could use them due to my unsteady hands. It was almost as if someone had been picking through here before I did. I was growing more suspicious of the fact someone else might be here. If it was true that there was other survivors scavenging here, then they might have followed me and know where I live. The only group I could think of who has a problem with me is the movie theater group. After a few minutes of searching, I began to hear voices coming from behind me. I took cover in a house close by and waited for the intruders to pass. When they came to my field of vision, I was taken of guard. It was an older Mexican man and a little Mexican girl with twin braids. They seemed to be talking about how the girl should hold a gun. I listened to their conversation once they were in hearing distance. "-the gun. Once you see the head between those two notches, then shoot." "But wont the gun hurt when I shoot?" "It will the first few times, but it gets easier." "Ok…" They continued to talk about techniques for using a gun. They got close to the house I was hiding in, and I was soon able to see them through the doorway. I heard a groan come from behind them and they turned around swiftly. I peeked out the doorway so I could see if my suspicion was correct. There was a zombie stumbling toward them. "Erika. This is good practice." The man crouched behind the girl and put the gun in her hands. The girl closed one eye and looked down the barrel of the gun while the man put his hands on her arms. As the zombie got closer, the girl put her finger on the trigger. The girl hesitated for a second, but fired the gun at the zombie. The bullet hit the zombie in the shoulder and it kept on coming. "You can do this, Erika." The girl cocked the gun and shot it again, but this one missed. I noticed that three zombies were coming behind them and they hadn't yet noticed. As the three zombies got closer, I began to realize that I had to do something. _If I help them, they will probably try to interrogate me after, but if I don't, then they might die. What should I do? _As the zombies drew closer, I knew I needed to decide fast.

-Option 1-

I decided to help them. I readied my sword and ran toward the zombies. The man grabbed the girl and took the gun out of her hands. "DAD," she yelled in surprise. He shot the zombie and pointed the gun at me. I yelled," I'm trying to help you! Look!" I pointed in the direction of the zombies and the man drew the gun on them instead. I continued my course for them and swung my sword at one. The blade got stuck partially in its head and the other two jumped at me. One tried to bite my arm but the duct tape impeded it while I had time to get my sword unstuck and stab it into it's eye. The other one tore of a section of my jeans and I knew that it could bite me._Oh no…_ I heard a shot, the zombie stopped, and its grip loosened. The man had shot it in the head and saved me. I got up off the ground and brushed myself off. "Thanks for saving me," I said. The man looked at me suspiciously and replied, "Consider it payback for warning us." I nodded my head and began to walk away when the man yelled, "Hey, wait!" I stopped and turned around to look at the man and girl, who was hiding behind the man and clinging to his shirt. "You're that kid who sneaks around, right?" I looked at him and said, "I didn't know I was so popular." The man squinted his eyes and replied, "Why are you always alone? Don't you have a family or a group or something?" I shook my head and said, "No. My family is missing and I've been trying to find them and I lost most of my friends in the first day when the school got run over." The man looked sad and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. You know, if you want, you could-" "I'm sorry. Not interested," I said before the man could finish. I knew this would happen. It's so annoying to keep telling them that I'm better off alone. The man looked at me with a surprised expression and said, "But if you join our group, you are more likely to survive. Don't you want to live?" "Only if my family is still alive, and plus, I don't work well with groups," I replied darkly. The man opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. After a few seconds of silence, he said, "Well, we should be getting back. I'll see you around."

-Option 2-

I decided to wait and see what would happen. The zombies got closer and closer to the man and girl. The girl fired a shot at the zombie in front of them and hit it in the head. "I did it! Did you see, Dad? I did it!" "You did good Erika." Suddenly, the girl noticed the zombies and screamed, "DAD! LOOK OUT!" The man turned around and saw the zombies. He grabbed the gun from the girls hands and shot at the zombies. When he shot them, I started to hear groaning coming from behind me. I turned around and saw a little zombie girl with long black hair and a sleeping gown. She jumped on top of me, causing me to fall partway out the doorway. The girl was trying to bite me, but I was blocking her with my arm. The man and girl noticed me and the man pointed the gun in my direction. The zombie tore of a section of my sleeve and exposed my forearm. _Oh no…_ I heard the man shoot the gun and the zombie fell on top of me. I pushed it off me and got to my feet. As I brushed myself off, I heard the sound of a gun cock and I looked at the man, who had his gun pointed right at me. "Wow! Easy there, dude." The man quickly replied, "How long have you been there?" I replied, "I heard you guys coming this way and hid in the house. I wanted to wait until you two passed by so I could keep supply hunting." The man got angry and said, "So you saw those zombies coming up behind us?! Why didn't you warn us?!" I replied, "I thought you would be able to take care of it, and you DID." "We could have DIED! Don't you understand?!" I was getting agitated. I yelled, "Quit acting like it's a big deal! You aren't hurt, right? Then STOP acting like there is a stick up your ass and be thankful that you're not DEAD!" The man seemed surprised and muttered, "I shouldn't have wasted the bullet."

The man and girl started to walk away. The girl turned around and looked at me for a little, then she ran to catch up with her dad._Hmm. _After that, I continued to search the neighborhood and found nothing else. _That dad and his daughter couldn't have been part of the church group, since they didn't seem too religious, and if they were from the movie theater group, they probably would've killed me. I guess its safe to assume they were part of the mall group. _As I began walking back to my house, I thought of my family. _I bet they are looking for me too, wherever they are. I hope I find them soon…_


	6. Bonus Chapter

Day 1, 3:12 PM

"Hurry, sweetie. We have to get to the car." I ran with mommy down the stairs. I could hear people screaming outside, and I was scared to leave the house. I cried, "Mommy. I don't wanna leave! I'm scared!" Mommy grabbed my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "Honey, we have to leave. If we don't, then we won't be able to find Kyle." Kyle was mommy's new boyfriend. He was ok, but I wish he was a little nicer to me. "Ok…" Mommy got her keys and she opened the door. When she did, I saw people lying on the street and things eating them. I closed my eyes and jerked my hand out of Mommy's grip. She turned around and slapped me. "Stop trying to stay! We have t-" Before she could finish, one of the things came behind Mommy and bit her on the neck. She was screaming and trying to get away from it. She grabbed a knife from her pocket and stabbed it into the things eye. It fell on the ground and Mommy closed and locked the front door. "Fuck!" She was screaming and cursing. "MOMMY!" With tear filled eyes, I went to her and gave her a hug. "Sweetie…I need you to get up. Can you go upstairs and get me the first aid kit out of the bathroom..?" I nodded my head and I ran upstairs. I went to the bathroom and got the first aid kit from the shelf next to the mirror. I took a moment to look at myself. Some of Mommy's blood got on my nightgown. Luckily, my black hair was long enough to cover it. I grabbed some hair and moved it over my left shoulder. Once I couldn't see the blood, I went back down stairs. "Look Mommy! I found the…" Mommy wasn't moving and she wasn't blinking. "Mommy?" I went to her and patted her face. She didn't move and blood was gushing out of her neck. I began to cry and call out to her. I shook her shoulders and she slumped over onto the floor. I sobbed and sobbed until my eyes started hurting. As I sat next to her, I heard a car pull up in our drive way and five loud bangs. Kyle opened the front door and closed it partially. "KYLE," I yelled. I ran to him and wrapped my arms around his waste. "What the…" He looked at Mommy's body and started to cry. "What… happened…?" I told him what happened and he looked at me with a scary face. "She wouldn't have died if you just went with her! THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" He pushed me out of the way, left the house, and drove away. "No… no… NOOOOOO!" I kept screaming and I ran upstairs. I went to my room and locked the door. I kept screaming no into my pillow until my throat got sore. I heard a noise from down stairs and went to look. Mommy's body wasn't there anymore and the door was all the way open. I looked at the floor where she used to be and I saw blood drops leading out the door. I looked outside, but I didn't see her. I went outside and yelled her name, but the things started to come for me. I ran back inside and closed the door. I heard the things trying to get in, but they never did. I went upstairs into my room and stayed there until it got dark. I was trying to fall asleep, but I couldn't. I was scared that I would never see Mommy again. I got up from my bed and went for my door to go get something to eat. I went to the kitchen, got some goldfish, and went back up to my room. I sat down and began eating the goldfish. I started to think about Mommy and began to cry again. As I shoveled goldfish into my mouth, one got stuck in my throat and I couldn't breathe. I tried to swallow, but I couldn't. I kept coughing and my eyes got blurry.

-Day 73,3:12 PM-

"Tobias!" I turned around to see Mikey, who was looking in the room next to the one I was. I decided to stop scavenging and see what he needed. When I got to the pink room and looked at the sight. A little girl with long black hair and a nightgown was lying on the floor dead. She had a bag of goldfish in her hand. She can't be older than 7... like my Sasha… There is no way I can shoot her. I will just make up an excuse. "I don't think she will come back. She lookes like she has been here a while. Anyway, we already got all we can from here, so lets go," I said. Mikey and I started to leave the room. So that kid isn't here. Caleb said he followed him to this area, so is he tricking us somehow? I looked at the girl one last time and decided to leave her door open. I went downstairs and out of the house. My group was in the front yard and told them that it was time to head back. We all got in our vehicles and drove back to the movie theater. Carley will be waiting for me. Hopefully I won't find her sobbing about Sasha again… Its been two months…


	7. Chapter 6

Micah's story

Day 75, 10:03 AM

I awoke to the sound of loud groaning coming from outside. I jumped up from my chair and peeked out the curtains in the living room. I saw around 15 zombies roaming around my house. What the hell? I thought for a little about what could have drawn them to this area. Could it have been from yesterday when that dad and his daughter decided to play target practice? Nah, if that is what caused them to come here they would've been drawn more to the west side. Maybe I should do a little investigating. I did the usual stuff and went outside to kill some zombies. I slashed my sword a few times and pretty soon my yard was clear. I decided to patrol the area to kill the rest of them and see what exactly brought them here. I circled the neighborhood, but I didn't see what could have brought them here. I made sure to kill every zombie I saw so I didn't have to worry about it later. I made sure to look at their faces to make sure I didn't know any of them, and to my dismay, I didn't. I'd rather find them dead than not at all… I went to the entrance of the neighborhood expecting not to find anything, but what I found was anything but. A truck had ran into the Raleigh Place sign and zombies were eating what I assumed to be the body of the driver. The driver side door was wide open and I could see the body hanging out partially while four zombies were ripping it apart and eating it. I got my sword out and approached the zombies cautiously. When I almost got within range of them, I heard a voice call out, "STOP!" I jumped back from the zombies, who were now aware of my presence, and turned around to see a group of three people with some rope. "It's ok, we will take it from here," said a woman with blonde hair, a tank top, and jeans. She and her companions managed to get the rope around the four zombies and trapped them with their arms to their sides. "See? They aren't hurting anyone now." She looked at me with a triumphant smile and I simply looked at her like she was stupid. "Ok," I began, "You got 'em trapped. What are you gonna do with 'em?" She looked at me with a confused expression and replied, "What we always do, we tie them up and keep them with the rest." I had a hunch about where these people were from, so I asked the question that always gives me the answer. "Why don't you just kill them?" She was shocked at first and then replied, "These are gods loyal subjects who have been infected with the plague of Satan. Only with prayer and holy water can they be saved from their suffering." Yep, the church group… I knew how this conversation would turn out, so I thought it would be best to leave while the girl was busy making sure the rope was tight enough. I started to back away, but one of the girls companions, a man with dark brown hair who had a black shirt and light blue jeans, grabbed my hand before I could get away. "Where are you off to?" I jerked my hand out of the mans grip and said, "Wouldn't you like to know." The other companion, a girl who looked to be around my age with black hair who had a white sweater with red stars and light blue jeans, added, "You shouldn't be so rude. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"." She is seriously preaching to me right now. Ok, I'm tired of this shit. "I will "Do unto others" however the fuck I want!" The woman gave me a sad look and said, "Why are you so bitter towards the servants of your lord and savior? Don't you wish to be saved from Satan's plague?" I couldn't hold myself back. "This isn't the "plague of Satan". That's just something you people made up because you couldn't get over the fact that all the people you love are eating each other." They all looked at me wide eyed. The man yelled, "SHUT UP! You haven't seen the things we've seen! I bet the day those things started showing up you hid in you room like a coward!" I flashbacked to the first day. I left my friends behind to save myself, but I went back later to see if they were still alive. I guess I was a coward, but I wasn't about to let some stranger win an argument he knew nothing about. I yelled, "LIKE HELL I DON'T! YOU WEREN'T AT THE SCHOOL WHEN I HAD TO WATCH THOSE THINGS EAT MY FRIENDS! I BARELY ESCAPED WITH MY LIFE! YOU ALL HAVE BEEN TOGETHER AT THE CHURCH SINCE DAY 1, BUT I'VE BEEN ALONE WITHOUT ANYONE! THE ONE TIME I DID JOIN A GROUP, THEY ENDED UP LEAVING ME FOR DEAD!" The man got quiet and the girl said, "I was at the school too," she began. I looked at her in shock. She was at the school? The girl continued, "What was left of my class and I were being led by my homeroom teacher and her two sons who were also teachers. We went down the main hall and saw a boy heading for the exit and tried to follow him, but some zombies got them and my class and I had to leave them behind to try and save ourselves. Two boys acted as decoys so me and the three girls I was with could escape. The two boys ended up dying and two of the girls I was with died as well. The girl I was with and I were able to escape and we found our group. I share your pain of losing friends in that massacre, but you have to move on and find the light, like I did." Oh my god… She was… part of that group. Maybe… I looked at her and said, "Is the girl you escaped with named Hazel, Maggie, or Tammy?" The girl nodded her head and replied, "Tammy Coleman?!" My hopes were shattered. "…I was looking for Tammy Yang…" "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know her and I don't know anyone named Maggie or Hazel either." "…I see…" I began to walk away, but the girl grabbed my arm and smiled at me. "I know you must be in so much pain, but if you give yourself to God, then the pain will go away." Before I could retort, she added, "Tammy and I haven't met any other survivors from the school. I would love to get to know you more, and I'm sure Tammy would too." I looked at her with an empty expression and said, "There is no God." She looked genuinely hurt at my remark and let me go. I began walking away, and this time, I wasn't stopped. Though, the woman said, "When you are ready to accept God, then you have a place at the church." I ignored her remark and continued my way back home, since I didn't feel like going scavenging. I went into my house and laid on the chair for a while. After a while, I began to sob. Mom… Dad… Eliza… Jessica… please find me… I didn't bother to eat anything and cried myself to sleep.


	8. Chapter 7

Day 76 (part 1), 9:44 PM

I opened my eyes and got a good stretch in. I had gotten over yesterdays trauma and prepared myself for the day. What should I do today? I'm not in terrible need of supplies… maybe I should just explore. Hopefully, I can find some people I'm looking for… I went outside and decided to go to the area near the school. The school had been overflowing with zombies since it got overrun that first day. Some of them are roaming outside, but most got trapped inside, since the doors open inward. I looked at my Mom's van. It would be better to take in than walk, incase things go sour. I opened the door and turned the key that was already in the ignition. The car started and I grimaced. I hope I won't have to ditch the car and get it later like last time. Such a pain in the ass… I drove the car to the entrance of the neighborhood and stopped to look at yesterdays car crash. To my surprise, the driver's body wasn't there. Did he turn? Nah, he would still be there since his body was still buckled. Then… My mind instantly flashed to the group of three I had met. Could they have buried him? Seems like something they would do. I looked at the ground near the truck and saw no evidence of a burial. Did they take his body to burry at the church? What IDIOTS! I hope, for their sakes, he didn't turn on their way to their base. Even though they had pissed me off with their religious bullshit, I would never wish for them to get hurt, or anyone for that matter. I was on my way to the school when I began thinking. What were they even doing there in the first place? Were they trying to find me? It wasn't the first time a member of their group tried to track me down. Fortunately, they were never able to pin my location down. Maybe I should pay them a visit, then I could also see if that group made it back. It wasn't long before I arrived at my school. I stopped the car and surveyed my old school. Zombies were roaming all around it. I took a good look to make sure I didn't recognize anyone. At first, I didn't see anyone I knew, but once I got a good look at their faces, I noticed that I had seen some of them around school. I wasn't well acquainted with any, but we passed each other in the hall once in a while. I circled the school, which caused zombies to follow me, but I didn't see anyone I knew. Part of me was relieved, but that relief was soon replaced with dread. I made sure to go down many roads so the zombies couldn't follow me, and decided to go to the church. The church was close to the school, so it wasn't to far out of my way. I had been there once before trying to look for my loved ones the first few days. They had walkers tied up to the fence around the church and they also had graves with giant wooden crosses over them. That was when I first learned how crazy they were. I saw a priest dousing the walkers with holy water and reading scripture from a bible. They had welcomed me many times into their group, but each time, I would turn them down. The reasons behind that is 1. They were religion crazy and 2. The way they operate will probably get them killed soon. In fact, I didn't expect them to make it past day 10, but somehow, they stuck around. As I approached the church, I was getting a weird sensation in my chest. I felt like something was very wrong. I drove closer to the church and saw one car and two trucks parked in the front. All the walkers that were on the fence weren't moving and the front doors were wide open. I saw some people carrying supplies out and loading it into the trucks. One of the men saw my van and pulled out a gun, causing the rest to do the same. FUCK! I shifted to reverse and stomped on the gas. While the men shot at my van, I waited for when the van to stop skidding and move. It finally started to move and I hastily made my retreat. Once I was far enough so they couldn't hit me, I slowed the van down and stopped. I was far away enough to finally relax. What the fuck?! Those guys were STEALING from them! Did they… kill them for supplies? I.. I have to do something! Wait, why am I trying to stick my neck out for these people? They would have just died anyway. I shouldn't risk my life for them, but wait, if they die, I wont ever find out what they were doing in my neighborhood. Hmm… I guess I should just check and see if they are ok, but if things get too hot, im going to run for it. I got out of the car and used the forest that stretches from the back of the church to where I was now to make it so they don't see me coming. I sneakily made my way to the church and hid behind a high concentration of trees until I found the right time to approach the building. The men I could see were all in the front and I was able to listen to some of their conversations. "These people had enough supplies to last for MONTHS!" "How in the hell did they come across all this?" "Hell if I know, but it's ours now!" I shifted my attention to another conversation. "-ias out yet?" "Naw, he wants to do a final sweep of the place. You know, make sure none of 'em were able to hide out somewhere." "Damn, he really wants to get the job done. I can still see the looks on all their faces when we burst through the door. PRICELESS!" I decided I had heard enough and made my way around back. Luckily, nobody was there, so I could move around more freely. I saw a backdoor and began making my way toward it. I pressed my ear against the door and heard voices inside, but I couldn't tell what they were saying. I could, however, tell that they were the men who were raiding the church, due to them mentioning a name sounding similar to Tobias. I remember the last time I met Tobias. He would've killed me if I hadn't given him all my supplies. If I remember right, his wife was with him the last time he caught me. She looked like she had been crying a river. "Micah?!" The whisper interrupted my thoughts. I turned around to find its source, but I saw nobody. I saw an open window with a hand motioning for me to go in. I tried to jump up to the window, but I wasn't tall enough. Two hands came down and I jumped to grab them. I was able to jump high enough and grabbed the hands, which pulled me up. I was in a dark room that appeared to be on the second floor. Just as I was about to speak, a hand wrapped itself around my mouth and pulled me into the darkness... (To be continued)


End file.
